Thursday 27th January: Cley and Holkham

 Our last full day in Norfolk, and we decided to drive east in the hope of an Iceland Gull near Cley, which has been present for some weeks, reliably reported most mornings feeding on a seal carcass on the shingle ridge behind Arnold’s Marsh. We arrived around 10.15 and a quick route march along the track to the beach quickly got us onto the bird doing exactly that. The smaller of the white gull species, this juvenile was a stunning bird and we were able to study its features for a sustained time through the scope.

Iceland Gull

In the afternoon we decided to visit  Holkham Park, a new location for us. We regularly visit the beach and marshland area but had never visited the grounds before, with paths through the deer park leading to a huge lake. The parkland was surprisingly bereft of birds, although a couple of Mistle Thrushes were our first of the trip. The lake was more productive with good numbers of Tufted Duck, Shoveler and Pochard. Our target bird was a female Scaup,  but the light was very poor and sadly we were not able to locate this. Of note though were many birders arriving in search of the White-tailed Eagle, rumoured to have roosted in the park the previous night, where photos had been shared of it trying to take a Barnacle Goose!

Our final stop, was where we began, at Thornham Harbour. This time we were successful in spotting the Greenshank, which wandered across the channel briefly. I tracked a Peregrine across the Marsh, but my call of ‘Raptor!’ before I had managed to confirm the identity, misled Tim and Sue into following a Marsh Harrier. Sorry guys! And finally, with the light fading, a female Hen Harrier swept low and fast across the saltmarsh, the white ringtail giving it away with the rest of the brown body perfectly camouflaged against the vegetation. A fabulous bird to end the day.